Wednesday, 15 June 2011

LINKS: June 15 2011

Some random items of interest.

Gamification. The mayor badge for Hell has been unlocked. ;-P On how entrepreneurs can avoid using social gaming tools for evil (by Umair Haque). I'd rather see people using social game tech to actually help people improve their lives (earn more, do more, be more). That sentiment is not merely altruism. It's common sense in an age of superempowerment. IF you improve the lives of the people around you, your life will improve too. The wider the circle of people and the faster you enable them to improve their lives, the faster your personal progress. People that can't see that are mentally deficient.

Bitcoin Wallet Stolen. Here's the thread of a guy that had 25k bitcoins stolen. His desktop was hacked. Important safety tip: don't ever leave more than half a million dollars in cash sitting on your desktop.

Libya. Very neo-feudal. It's Makers vs. Mercenaries. The Libyan rebel makers, are like all rebels, DIYers. The ability of Qaddafi to use his oil fueled checkbook to hire mercenaries explains much of his ability to bounce back from collapse. Of course, in his quest to fill his ranks, many of these "mercenaries" are now migrant laborers that have been "contracted" to fight. Check out some of the weapons the rebels are making (The Atlantic is doing a cool job by writing GG style stories recently).

CNBC. Housing crisis now worse than the great depression. If you haven't been paying attention, even with massive fiscal stimulus and the Federal reserve putting the pedal to the metal, we are now in rapid decline again. Who knew?

What am I doing? I'm VERY busy building a tech venture that will allow people to move to resilient communities, no matter where they are located, without sacrificing the opportunity to earn a robust external income while working on something of lasting value. Nothing else out there remotely like this. The team of people actually doing the hard work on this venture are absolutely amazing. It's definitely an honor to be working with them on this.

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LINKS: June 15 2011

Some random items of interest.

Gamification. The mayor badge for Hell has been unlocked. ;-P On how entrepreneurs can avoid using social gaming tools for evil (by Umair Haque). I'd rather see people using social game tech to actually help people improve their lives (earn more, do more, be more). That sentiment is not merely altruism. It's common sense in an age of superempowerment. IF you improve the lives of the people around you, your life will improve too. The wider the circle of people and the faster you enable them to improve their lives, the faster your personal progress. People that can't see that are mentally deficient.

Bitcoin Wallet Stolen. Here's the thread of a guy that had 25k bitcoins stolen. His desktop was hacked. Important safety tip: don't ever leave more than half a million dollars in cash sitting on your desktop.

Libya. Very neo-feudal. It's Makers vs. Mercenaries. The Libyan rebel makers, are like all rebels, DIYers. The ability of Qaddafi to use his oil fueled checkbook to hire mercenaries explains much of his ability to bounce back from collapse. Of course, in his quest to fill his ranks, many of these "mercenaries" are now migrant laborers that have been "contracted" to fight. Check out some of the weapons the rebels are making (The Atlantic is doing a cool job by writing GG style stories recently).

CNBC. Housing crisis now worse than the great depression. If you haven't been paying attention, even with massive fiscal stimulus and the Federal reserve putting the pedal to the metal, we are now in rapid decline again. Who knew?

What am I doing? I'm VERY busy building a tech venture that will allow people to move to resilient communities, no matter where they are located, without sacrificing the opportunity to earn a robust external income while working on something of lasting value. Nothing else out there remotely like this. The team of people actually doing the hard work on this venture are absolutely amazing. It's definitely an honor to be working with them on this.

On Brave New War

G. Gordon Liddy Show (radio)...this is a seminal book in the truest sense of the term.. way ahead of the curve... go out and buy it right now -- G. Gordon Liddy

City JournalRobb has written an important book that every policymaker should read -- Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit)

Small Wars JournalWithout reservation Brave New War is for professional students of irregular warfare and for any citizen who wants to understand emerging trends and the dark potential of 4GW -- Frank Hoffman

Scripps Howard News ServiceA brilliant new book published by terrorism expert John Robb, titled "Brave New War," hit stores last month with virtually no fanfare. It deserves both significant attention and vigorous debate... - Thomas P.M. Barnett

Chet Richards DNIJohn has produced an important book that should help jar the United States and other legacy states out of their Cold War mindset. You can read it in a couple of hours – so you should read it twice...

Washington Times / UPIRobb correctly finds the antidote to 4GW not in Soviet-style state structures such as the Department of Homeland Security, but in decentralization -- William Lind (the father of 4th generation warfare).

Robert PatersonHaving painted a crystal clear picture of how a war of networks is playing out, he comes to an astonishing conclusion that I hope he fills out in his next book.

The Daily DishJohn Robb of Global Guerrillas has written the most important book of the year, Brave New War. - Daily Dish (The Atlantic)

Simulated LaughterWell-written. Brave New War reads more like an action novel than a ponderous policy book. - Adam Elkus

FutureJackedGo buy a copy of this book. Now. If you are low on cash, skip a few lunches and save up the cash. It is worth it. - Michael Flagg

ZenPunditThe second audience is composed of everyone else. Brave New War is simply going to blow them away. - Mark Safranski

Haft of the SpearThere aren’t a lot of books that make me recall a 12-year-old self aching for the next issue of The Invincible Iron Man to hit the shelves. Well done.
- Michael Tanji

Ed ConeHis book posits an Army of Davids -- with the traditional nation state in the role of Goliath. - Ed Cone (Ziff Davis)

Shloky.comThis is the first real text on next generation warfare designed for the general population and it sets the bar high for following acts. It is smart, it is a short read, and it will change your thinking. - Shlok Vaidya

Politics in the ZerosI suggest this is something Lefties need to start thinking about now, as that decentralized world is coming. - Bob Morris